Franklin Abraham Sonn (72)

BA, HdipEd (Hons), FIAC

Franklin was appointed to the Steinhoff International board as an independent non-executive director in 2002.

He was appointed as South Africa's first democratic ambassador to the United States of America from 1995 to 1998 and returned to South Africa in 1999. He is the recipient of 13 honorary doctorates in law, education, humanities and philosophy from various institutions in South Africa, Europe and North America. He served as rector of Peninsula Technikon now Cape Peninsula University of Technology, for 17 years. He is the former President of the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut and served as chancellor of the University of the Free State from 2002 to 2009. Current board positions, among others, include JIA Piazza Proprietary Limited (holding company for the five-star Airport Sun InterContinental Hotel at OR Tambo Airport), Imalivest Proprietary Limited, African Star Ventures Proprietary Limited, Kwezi V3 Engineers, Ekapa Mining Proprietary Limited and non-executive director of Macsteel Service Centres SA, RGA Reinsurance Company of South Africa, Esorfranki Limited and Xinergistix Management Services Proprietary Limited. He is a trustee of the WWF SA and the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust.